Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Fall Brown Bag Luncheon

Each quarter, I hold a brown bag luncheon in my office, and invite library patrons and city staff to attend, and discover fifteen books they might not have read. It's usually a small group here, and then the next day, I repeat the program for library staff who pack their lunch, and come in from all three of our libraries. It's a fun chance to explore books and authors people might not have read. Here are the fifteen books I'm going to talk about this week.

The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer - In chronological order, 100 stories about Presidential history.

On Wings of the Morning by Marie Bostwick - The story of two young people from the Midwest, who yearned to fly in the days prior to, and during WWII.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen - Georgie is 34th in line to the throne, and desperate to make a living. She isn't going to make money investigating a murder in which her brother is the suspect, or spying on her cousin for Queen Mary.

The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey - Alafair Tucker's brother-in-law is murdered, and her daughter, Mary, a witness who can't remember the event, so Alafair digs in to find the killer. Another terrific mystery involving Alafair's family in Oklahoma in the early 20th century.

Some Like It Hot-Buttered by Jeffrey Cohen - Elliot Freed owns a movie theater that only shows comedies, but he's not laughing when someone dies of poisoned popcorn in the theater.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer - Mix in a food columnist with a deadly frying pan, a hitman, and a wedding, and it's a recipe for fun and disaster.

Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby - When "Mr. Choppy" Dunbar runs for mayor in Second Creek, Mississippi, it's up to the Nitwits, wealthy and eccentric widows, to help with the campaign.

The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank - At 93, Theodora needs a miracle to have an old-fashioned Christmas with her cantankerous family, but it might work when her beloved former housekeeper shows up.

What on Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum - From Seattle, to Moab, Utah, to Crete, Fulghum searches the world for friends who will share his philosophy of life.

McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn - While waiting for the birth of his first child, Chief of Detectives Jake Hines and his team deal with credit card theft and a running purse-snatcher who is getting more dangerous.

The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson - 230 common misconceptions laid to rest.

One Red Paperclip by Kyle Macdonald - Macdonald tries to trade for a house, using the Internet and Craig's List, beginning with one red paperclip.

Where Angels Go by Debbie Macomber - Macomber's beloved Prayer Ambassadors, Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy return to earth to help with three Christmas prayers.

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs - The mystery series that brought us the TV series, Bones. Tempe Brennan deals with her own childhood mystery, in a story involving cold cases, and the bodies of missing girls.

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon - A couple tries to live off of the food they can buy that is produced locally.

For the staff luncheon, I added a cookbook, Paula Deen's Christmas with Paula Deen, and a mystery set on an Arapaho reservation in Wyoming, Margaret Coel's The Girl with Braided Hair. That's as close as I could get to a western. More Christmas gifts!

About Me

I have been a library manager/administrator for over 30 years, in Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and, now, Indiana. Winner of the 2011 Arizona Library Association Outstanding Library Service Award. I am a contributing Book Reviewer for Library Journal, Mystery Readers Journal, and ReadertoReader.com. Author of the "Mystery Fiction" chapter in Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests (7th ed.) Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Spinetingler Awards for Best Reviewer.

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Currently Reading:

Glow of Death

Review Policy

It's an honor to be asked to review books, and I'm grateful to all the publishers, publicists, and authors who send me books. Thank you. Reviews will appear on my blog if I've had a chance to read, and finish, the book. If I do not finish a book, I won't review it, and I will not respond to emails asking when, or if, I'll be reviewing a book.

My reviews are only my opinion, and do not reflect the views of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library.

At the present time, I do not accept books in e-book format.

Disclosure of review copies

My Oct. 19, 2009 blog provides full disclosure that I only receive review copies of books, with no other compensation. All review copies are marked as such. If there any any questions, please feel free to contact me.